Some local gun dealers support a bill that would do away with law enforcement's role in handgun purchases.

House Bill 937, titled “Amend Various Firearm Laws,” would repeal the pistol purchase permit law, among other gun-related changes.

Currently only North Carolina sheriff’s offices issue pistol purchase permits to those that qualify. South Carolina doesn’t have a pistol purchase permit.

Anyone wanting a permit in North Carolina has to go through mental health and criminal background checks.

If they qualify, they can purchase five pistol purchase permits for $5 each that are good for five years.

If the bill is approved and the permits are repealed, the only checks someone would have on purchasing a pistol would be through background checks done by the gun dealers.

Pros

Some gun dealers say they see weaknesses in the current set-up – and permits that are good for five years.

Adam Queen, manager at American Tactical & Pawn in Shelby, experienced a problem related to that at a gun show about a year ago.

A woman came up to the booth to purchase a gun with permits that she had gotten years ago. Within the years that she had gotten the permits, however, she had been convicted of a felony.

The workers gave her a checklist to fill out before purchasing a gun. When it asked if she’d ever been convicted of a felony, she was honest.

The woman was not sold the gun, Queen said.

“If she would’ve lied we wouldn’t have known,” Queen said. “It would have been another felon on the street with a gun.”

Queen runs background checks on anyone purchasing a gun in the tactical store. The results come back, most of the time, that day, making it much less of a hassle to buy a gun.

Queen also thinks the change would lessen the workload for law enforcement.

Cons

Several sheriffs in the region said they have concerns about the proposed bill.

The law enforcement leaders said gun dealers won’t have the means of checking gun buyers for a history of mental health issues. They also said they would like the current local mental health check system expanded to a statewide check.

“If you moved here from even an adjacent county, there’s no way for me to actually check to see if you have a mental health history,” said Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman. “If you have a mental history of confinement, all I’m allowed to do is check to see if you’ve been committed in Cleveland County. We check the counties we’re responsible for and it doesn’t go any wider."

Page 2 of 2 - Norman said the mental health aspect is a drawback to the bill.

"The thing that concerns me most would be the mentally ill or the individuals who have been involuntarily committed being able to purchase a firearm," he said. "Now, there is somewhat of a check and balance the way the system is currently set up."

Norman said leaders considering the bill should also consider changes to the current five-year time period for which permits are good.

“I am pro-gun,” Norman said. “I believe if an individual is not a criminal that they by all means should be able to purchase what they choose to purchase. The unfortunate side is a criminal element is always going to be able to purchase a firearm not by the rules, because they don’t play by the rules.”

The Star contributed to this report. Reach Lauren Baheri at 704-869-1842 or Twitter.com/lbaheri.

House Bill 937: Amend Various Firearm Laws

Among the provisions of the bill are:

* Increased penalties for certain crimes in which a firearm is used, displayed, or there is a threat to use or display a firearm.

* Makes it a criminal offense for anyone to permit a child to have access to or possess a firearm without supervision and parental consent.

* Provides that a person who has a valid concealed handgun permit may do all of the following: have a concealed handgun in a locked vehicle in a state government parking lot; have a concealed handgun in a locked compartment in a vehicle on the premises of a community college, or public or private college or university; and carry a handgun into an assembly where and admission fee is charged or an establishment where alcoholic beverages are sold and consumed, unless the person in legal possession or control of the premises has posted a notice prohibiting the carrying of handguns on the premises.

* Clarifies the law on local government authority to prohibit concealed carry of firearms.